KHII Fanfic The Lost Two
by Arxeza
Summary: My first real fanfic.
1. Chapter 1

A lone figure was resting in a field of grass. It was nothing but grassy hills for miles and the only changes in scenery anywhere in the area were a little town to the east and a large damn in the south which blocked a river that lead to a beach.

The figure was sitting under a tree while some cows were grazing about 20 meters away. He was in a fairly casual outfit consisting of a green shirt with a white T-shirt underneath, green pants which had pockets and beige writing scribbled as a design all over, a wooden surfer necklace, brown shoes, a chain hanging out of his pants pocket and attaching itself to one of his 3 belts which are all crossed over one another and a long wristband that rides up to halfway up his forearm.. His hair was Black and was relatively short but was spiky all the way down to his neck where it frayed slightly.

He had an old rapier next to him which he would usually take out and practice fighting with on trees and dummies that were thrown out of his mother's studio.

He decided to get up and practice on a tree when a girl started running up to him.

She was in a blue half dress which extended down her right leg only and was held up by a belt, she was wearing white shorts underneath and had on a white shirt with blue rims and no sleeves. She had lots of bracelets on as well as a white choker with a metal ring holding it together. Her brown hair looked short and was frayed out at the back but was actually sporting two long plats down to her feet which were held together by white material wrapped around both of them. She was wearing Black knee high boots.

Girl- "Shade, shade!"

Shade looked at her and stuck his rapier in the ground. He then ran over to her.

Shade- "What is it Kuza?"

She stopped running right in front of him

Kuza- "Val, she captured this weird black thing down at the forest by the dam, she wants you to see it before she tells the mayor"

Shade thought for a moment. He had seen a weird white creature on the beach a week ago but told know one other Val the scientist researching wildlife affected by the dam, and Kuza who was his best friend since he moved from his old town 8 years earlier.

Shade- "Okay I'll go; this may explain that thing I saw before"

Kuza- "I'm going as well"

The two ran off to Myponga Village

When they arrived at the building a strange explosion occurred and a little black creature ran out of the building. Kuza tried to catch it but it escaped her and she fell flat on her face.

Val came running out of the building which had managed not to set alight but was covered in a cloud of dust. She appeared to be in her mid 20's; she was wearing a white coat over a green tank top and blue jeans and sneakers. Her hair was blonde and went down her back in a ponytail with only a few hairs hanging out making a fringe. She also wore a pair of glasses that gave her an heir of maturity, which was not the case at all with Val.

Val- "Did you see that thing Shade?"

Shade- "Yeah, what was it"

Val- "I was so close to finding out but just before I could put it to sleep it disappeared and when I checked where it went, it got into the emergency flares and set them off, god knows how"

Kuza- "Should we chase it?"

Val- "Hold on"

She went back in and pulled out a box with a screen that was blinking every few seconds

Kuza- "You tagged it?"

Val- "You learn that it's best to tag first, study later in this profession"

They all followed its signal to the forest where it went into the very centre where most people never went to.

When they emerged from the trees they saw the heartless run up to a figure that was holding a strange key shaped weapon, they couldn't see much in this part of the forest so they could only make out a male holding a key to the small pond in the middle of the area. He was in an Organization XIII cloak.

Shade- "What is he holding?"

Val- "What is he doing?"

Kuza- "Shhhhhh!"

The figure looked at them and jumped back. He shot a blast out of his weapon right at Shade which he tried to block with his rapier when all of a sudden a light surrounded his weapon and it took on the shape of the mans weapon and parried the blast.

Val and Kuza- "What!"

The man noticed the change but took little notice of it pointed his weapon at the ground, he then sent a black beam into the pond which opened up into a keyhole shape and began shattering.

The man disappeared when he jumped above the trees and the three of them noticed that the ground was shaking.

Val- "What's happening?"

Kuza looked up at the trees

Kuza- "Oh no!"

The leaves on the trees started rotting of and revealed a huge black sphere in the air above everything. Everything was covered in darkness and even the sky had gone black but with no stars or anything.

Shade- "We have to get out of here!"

The all tried running but the entire Forrest near the pond was sucked up into the sphere. Shade, Kuza and Val tried holding their hands as they were sucked up but Kuza was hit by a branch and knocked away from Shade and Val who were sucked up into the sphere.

The land under the sphere then crumbled and exploded.


	2. Chapter 2

Kuza woke up on a deserted field. She was alone with the exception of hundreds of weapons, armor and bodies scattered throughout the area, it was clear she was on a battlefield. She got up as she realized she was the only one there alive and had no idea where Val and Shade went.

Kuza- "Shade! Val!"

No one replied when she yelled. She noticed smoke about 2 miles away and assumed it was a camp, and seeing as she had no other options as to where she would go, she decided to walk there.

Kuza – (Where could they be?)

When she arrived where she had seen the smoke she found a half destroyed camp, there weren't any signs of life but it was easy to tell if anyone was ever here they had left only recently as the campfire was still going. She noticed some footprints leaving the camp and was about to follow them when a strange man appeared behind her. He was wearing a black undershirt with a red and black vest over the top which had a gold lining and a collar that extended up to his chin but was open so you could see his mouth, He had Black pants on with heaps of pockets witch were covered in buckles, his shoes had metal plates on them and black leather, his hair was black and extended down halfway down his back and was quite spiky, he had small black belts around his left arm which had gold buckles. He also had two gold earrings on his right ear and crimson eyes, as well as 2 black belts with gold buckles which held his pants on. He rested his arm on Kuza's shoulder.

Man- "What are you doing here? You should have left with the main unit"

Kuza- "Huh, I don't know what is going on. This man in a cloak with this strange sword attacked us and then this black sphere swallowed us up…"

Man- "There are more of you?"

Kuza- "There 'were' more of us, only I lost them after we got sucked into that sphere"

Man- "I see what happened, your world was destroyed and…"

Kuza interrupted the man.

Kuza- "Destroyed!"

Man- "I can see this is upsetting you, perhaps we should not go into detail about what happened to you just yet. For now we will wait until the main unit returns, as it is nearly nightfall and you cannot go out alone to join them"

Kuza- "I suppose so"

Man- "Where are my manners. My name is Javo. I'm here to take care of this encampment whilst the main unit is defending the castle far beyond the other side of the field"

Kuza- "All by yourself?"

Javo- "I can assure you I am capable of this task, and seeing as the castle defense is our number one priority, the more that go the better"

Kuza- "So where are we exactly?"

Javo- "You are in the world of nightfall"

Kuza- "Nightfall?"

Javo- "One of the few dark worlds that are not held by the heartless"

Kuza- "Heartless?"

Javo- "I can see you are rather ignorant in regards to the situation. Such can be expected from someone whose world was only recently consumed"

Javo realized that Kuza was carrying a rapier.

Javo- "So do you know how to fight then?"

Kuza- "I spar with Shade every now and again, but I aint no professional like you claim to be"

Javo got pulled out his gun arrows and Kuza stepped back.

Kuza- "What are you doing?"

Javo- "I am going to teach you to fight. Lesson one, dodging"

Javo fired at Kuza who did a back flip over the bullet.

Kuza- (Gymnastics don't fail me now)

Javo- "Not bad for a newbie"

Javo put away his guns.

Javo- "Come on, I will take you to the training area so you can defend yourself. You will have to if you plan to stay here"

Kuza began wondering about Shade and Val and if they made it out okay. She knew she would have to find a way to go looking for them at some stage, but there was no way to do so now, and she got the feeling that she could trust Javo despite his appearance so she decided to train with him until the main unit got back.

Kuza- "Okay, for now you can teach me"

Javo and Kuza left the main camp and went to the training area where they trained for the next 3 weeks. Kuza had gotten very strong and was now a rather competent and agile fighter with some impressive skills. She was sitting by a fire with Javo when they heard a noise. It was a small unit of heartless and they were approaching the camp.

Kuza- "So they are called the Heartless?"

Javo- "Yes. I can tell that the main unit is close, but it looks like we will be taking care of these heartless alone for the moment"

Kuza- "That's fine with me"

She drew her rapier as Javo pulled out his Gun Arrows and they slowly approached the heartless which were still moving slowly.

Javo- "You good to go?"

Kuza- "You know it"

They charged the unit of heartless which had about 300 heartless in it and began tossing them aside like road kill. Javo was able to dodge every attack and blast the he11 out of them while Kuza pulled insane acrobatic stunts whilst at the same time killing up to 30 heartless at a time.

The fight was over quick.

Kuza- "To easy"

Javo- "Don't be so sure"

A huge heartless appeared. It was a giant dragon shaped heartless which had thousands of heartless symbols all over it.

Javo- "I'm not sure we can take it!"

Kuza- "Me neither!"

Just then, an arrow appears out of nowhere and hits the dragon in the side of the head, knocking it over. Then a huge blue figure with a large lance runs and jumps over Kuza and sticks his lance in its body and the heartless fades into the shadows.

The figure then jumps in front of Javo as a second figure walks up next to Kuza, she is holding a bow.

Javo- "Fran, Kimahri About time you guys showed up!"

Kuza turned to Fran.

Kuza- "So are you guy's the main unit?"

Fran- "Yes. But who are you?"

Kuza- "It's a long story"

Fran- "Come child, we can hear about it by a warm fire while the soldiers fix up the camp.

The four of them walk back to the main camp.


	3. Chapter 3

((This is all happening parallel to what Kuza is doing so there is no time difference between stories for the moment))

Shade opened his eyes and found himself in a bed.

He was in a small house with a fire going; no one else was there however.

He stood up and wiped his eyes, but then he realized Kuza and Val weren't with him.

Shade "Kuza! Val!"

Just then Val walked in with a young man with blonde hair and an old man with a long white beard and peculiar blue clothes.

Val- "Finally you woke up"

Young man- "I found you two out in a cavern about 15 miles away from the village. You might never had found your way here if someone hadn't found you"

Old man- "My name is Merlin, and this is my young apprentice Van"

Shade- "Nice to meet you"

Shade said this in a very distracted manner. He was looking for Kuza. When Val noticed this she stood next to Shade and put her hand on his shoulder.

Val- "Van only found us… Kuza was not with us"

Shade- "How hard did he look?"

Van- "I checked the entire area when Val woke up and said you were with a girl, but I found no one"

Shade sat back on the bed only to get back up when he sat on something under the sheets. When he pulled them up he found a strange weapon on the shape of a key. He picked it up and looked at it.

Merlin- "Ah, the Keyblade. We found that with you"

Val- "So that's what you guys call it"

Van- "You taught me about it didn't you master?"

Merlin- "Yes. It all happened about eight years ago, when the heartless attacked"

Shade- "Heartless?"

Merlin- "Hmm. Perhaps I should take you to Squall so he can explain it to you"

Van- "He should be in the castle right now"

Merlin- "Ah, good, we can go right now"

Val- "Good, there are still some questions I have"

Shade- "And I have many as well"

Merlin- "Good we can make a day out of it. Shall we?"

Merlin led the two of them out the door and turned to Van.

Merlin- "You can come as well Van"

Van- "Really. I haven't actually seen Squall in a while; it will be good to see him"

Van and Merlin left as well. The three of them walked to the castle which was a fair walk away. Shade held his Keyblade in his hands, as he did not know how or where to put it away. A figure was shrouded in the shadows. He was in an organization cloak ((I'd just like to say that a cloak does not mean they are in the organization)) and was looking at the Keyblade Shade was holding with a sort of hatred.

Figure- "Keyblade…"

The figure vanished behind the shadows without being noticed. At that same time five heartless appeared in front of the group.

Van pulled out a sword but Merlin put his hand over Van to stop him attacking the heartless.

He then moved his hand away as Van had seen what Merlin was intending to say.

Merlin- "Do you know how to wield a weapon Shade?"

Shade- "A little…"

Merlin- "Let's have a look at what you've got, you want to take out those heartless?"

Shade- "You sure I can do it?"

Merlin- "If you get into trouble Van can help you out"

Shade- "Okay"

Shade closed his eyes and pulled out his Keyblade. He then opened his eyes and attacked one of the heartless. He managed to kill it but the other four attacked back, they knocked him down flat on his face but he picked up his Keyblade and took out two more heartless with some dodgy but effective attacks. Then the fourth and fifth heartless disappeared into the shadows and a larger heartless appeared. It was a defender heartless.

Shade- "What now?"

Merlin- "Hmm… have a go Shade. We are right here if you get into trouble"

Shade tried to slide under the huge heartless shield, but the heatless used it's leg to stop him and was about to bring his shield down like a guillotine when a large sword covered in bandages impaled the monster. A man in black with blonde but slightly graying, spiky hair walked up to the sword and pulled it out of the defender which vanished straight away, he then proceeded to walk up to the group.

Merlin- "Cloud! It has been a while"

Cloud- "It has hasn't it. Are you going to see Squall?"

Merlin- "Yes, as a matter of fact we are. This is my apprentice Van"

Van shook Cloud's hand

Van- "Merlin has told me much about you, it's a pleasure"

Merlin- "And these two are Val and Shade"

Cloud shook Val's hand as she blushed slightly

Val- "It's my pleasure, IT'S A PLEASURE!"

Cloud smiled slightly and then took his attention to Shade and his Keyblade. He walked over and picked him up.

Cloud- "Be careful, you should not use such obvious tactics when fighting an enemy,. Even the heartless could read an attack like that"

Shade- "Thank you…"

Shade was a little embarrassed and was a little hostile towards Cloud, but he trusted him nevertheless.

Merlin walked up to Cloud and took him away from the main group who were left alone a few meters away.

Merlin- "And what of Sephiroth? Were you able to vanquish him?"

Cloud- "Yes and no. I was able to overcome his dominance over me, but he is still retaining a physical form. I do not know why"

Merlin- "We can talk about it more with Squall later"

Merlin and Cloud return to the main group.

Merlin- "Cloud will be accompanying us to the. Shall we?"

They make it to the castle where they enter and make it to the door in front of Squall's room (formerly Ansem and Xehanort's room). Merlin knocks on the door.

Merlin- "Squall may we enter, it's Merlin"

A calm and mature voice is heard.

Voice- "Sure thing Merlin"

They enter to see a man wearing mostly black clothes and brown hair who seems to be in his mid 30's. The man gets up to greet the group when he notices that Cloud is there. He heads straight for cloud.

Squall- "So you have returned to us. Areith is downstairs in the chapel, you can go see her and we can talk later"

Cloud- "Thank you"

Cloud exit's the room, as Squall notices Shade and his Keyblade.

Squall- "So… Another Keyblade… I'm sorry, my name is Squall Leonheart and I am the ruler of Radiant Garden"

Merlin- "This is Shade and Val, Shade is the one with the Keyblade"

Val was blushing again.

Val- "Hot to meet you, NICE TO MEET YOU!"

Shade- "So can you explain to me what is going on here?"

Squall- "Yes I can answer most of your questions. Shall we begin?"

Squall closes the door and the details concerning the Heartless, Knowbodies and the events of KHI and II are revealed. They all then emerge out of the door to find that Cloud is outside waiting with Areith.

Cloud- "You done?"

Squall- "Yes. Shade, Val, do you mind waiting out here for a moment.

Val- "Sure"

Shade and Val wait outside while Merlin, Van, Squall, Areith and Cloud talk inside Squall's room.

Shade- "So do you think Kuza is on another world"

Val- "That seems to be the case Shade"

Shade- "What is she ends up in a heartless world or somewhere dangerous like that?"

Val- "It's best not to worry about these things. I'm sure she is in good hands wherever she is. Just don't stress yourself out over something you have no control over"

Shade- "I guess you're right"

Just then, Squall walks out of the room and looks at both Val and Shade.

Squall- "Could you come in for a moment?"

The walk in with squall to see everyone sitting around the room

Squall- "We have assessed your situation and have decided to help you find your friend"

Shade- "Really?"

Areith- "Yes, there is a man named Cid in the town who can help you by building a ship so you can look for your friend on different worlds. But first."

Cloud- "We want to train you"

Shade- Train me?"

Merlin- "You aren't in any condition to fight any heartless while you keep fighting like that so Squall, Cloud, My self and Van are going to teach you two.

Val- "Both of us…"

Merlin- "Here take this"

Merlin generated a green scythe with all sorts of texts written on the blade.

Cloud- "That will be your weapon. Do not worry, we can teach you to use it"

Squall- I will take you to your rooms? We can start training tomorrow"

Shade- "Okay then"

Merlin- "We will be leaving now. I guess we will see you tomorrow"

Val- "Okay"

Merlin and Van left the castle while Clout and Areith left to different areas of the castle and Squall took Val and Shade to two doors side by side in a large hallway on the second level.

Squall- "Choose a room"

Val- "Ladies first!"

Val shoved Shade to the side and went straight for the left door"

Squall- "I'll wake you up tomorrow"

Shade- "Goodnight squall"

Squall- "Night"

Squall walked back to the stairs which led to his room and Shade walked into his room. It was a fairly large room with a queen bed and all the bedroom essentials, including a large window with a view of the town. He looked outside as it was dark and decided to get an early night before his training began.

He got into bed and started wondering about Kuza and how long his training would go for, he then fell asleep.


	4. Chapter 4

Kuza, Javo, Fran and Kimahri were all sitting by an open campfire in the middle of the camp which was being repaired by the soldiers that Fran and Kimahri brought back from the castle. All the soldiers were either Ronso or Viera, so they were quite powerful in their own respects. Kuza was kind of feeling out of place with all these non-humans around but she found solace in that Javo was a human so she was not entirely alone.

Javo- "So, I assume you have noticed that you are the only actual human in this camp"

Kuza looked at Javo funny. But when she did look at him like this she noticed that his left hand was actually a claw with strange markings on it. She was taken back by this discovery a little.

Kuza- "What are you exactly?"

Javo- "Come over here"

When Kuza got closer to Javo he pointed at his eyes. When she took a deep look into them she noticed three things. One they were crimson in color (a color that a human cannot have). Two the were lines similar to a cat's eyes And three when she took an even deeper look she could see a wing concealing a large mass, then the wing folded back revealing a huge crimson dragon which appeared to be blowing flames.

She stepped back from Javo who pulled back his lip to reveal that he also had fangs.

Javo- "You see, I am actually 2 thirds dragon"

Kuza- "Two thirds?"

Fran- "Don't make him give us another anatomy lecture"

Javo- "Oh come on!"

They all started laughing around the campfire. It was something Kuza had not done in a while, but it was peculiar because even though it appeared she was laughing. She was actually quite distressed at the fact that she was the only human for miles, a feeling most people will never feel.

The next morning Kuza woke up rather late because Fran and Javo had pent all night answering her questions as to what happened to her and all sorts of info (At this stage she knows all of the events of KHI and KHII plus everything else about the heartless and knowbody). But she still had a few questions that had gone unanswered like, Why aren't there any humans here? And, why is this world so important. Every time she asked a question the only answer she got was "Only the General can tell you freely". She was accepting of the fact that she was hanging out in a military branch and probably had to adhere to certain laws while in the camp, but it did occasionally get on her nerves as it did prevent her from acquiring information about what was happening now, not what happened in the past.

Kuza- "Morning"

She walked out of her tent only to momentarily see Kimahri talking to a young Viera who looked more like a messenger than a soldier, then only to be pushed back into her tent by Javo.

Javo- "Get your day clothes on! You are going to the castle with me so we can meet with the General and help you out"

Kuza- "There isn't any need to push me you know!"

Javo- "You do realize its 2:30 pm, you slept in for 6 hours!"

Kuza, shocked, got ready in a flash and rushed out to meet Javo who was sitting on a large blue elephant like creature with a curly trunk. There was a large carriage on its back witch had 2 beds, a stove and all of their supplies to last them the trip"

Javo- "Well hurry up and get on the Shoopuf!"

Kuza looked around for a way to get on the Shoopuf, when all of a sudden she was launched into the air and landed right on the back of the Shoopuf. When she clambered into the carriage on its back and looked down to see what happened, she noticed that Kimahri was standing just behind where she was standing.

Javo- "Thanks Kimahri!"

Kimahri smiled and walked off while at the same time, Kuza was leering at him and Javo while imagining them being eaten by a Shoopuf.

Javo- "Off we go"

Javo pulls on the reign which sets the Shoopuf on its journey to the castle. Kuza wave's goodbye to Kimahri and Fran, and so do they.

They leave the sight of the camp before Javo walks back into the carriage.

Javo- "The Shoopuf says that she can take it from here"

Kuza- "You can talk to her?"

Javo- "Dragons can converse with any creature"

Kuza- "I see…"

Kuza kept managing to forget that Javo was more Dragon than Human, but she did remember it afterwards.

Kuza- "So how old are you Kuza"

Javo- "173 in human years, but dragons do not tend to bother measuring their age; they usually keep aging until they die by unnatural circumstances"

Kuza jumped back.

Javo- "I'm actually quite young compared to other semi-dragons; we are technically immortal just like real dragons. I would say I've got about another 500 years of service in me"

Kuza- "Are there any other abilities you have due to your lineage?"

Javo- "Well…"

Javo sprouted two crimson dragon wings which were traditional English style dragon wings, covered in scales and flew to the side of the Shoopuf; he immediately flew back into the carriage and reverted.

Javo- "I can change into a full dragon, but that takes a lot of energy out of me. I can keep the wings up for ages"

Kuza- "How long?"

Javo- "I can half change for up to 50 hours, but only fully change for 20 hours"

Kuza- "So only for battles are you saying?"

Javo- "Pretty much"

Kuza- "Well, I'm going to sleep"

Javo- "Sleep tight"

Kuza went to sleep rather early while Javo decided to stay up for a few more hours and talk to the Shoopuf, when it got late, he went to sleep.


	5. Chapter 5

Shade woke up in his large queen sized bed in a large room overlooking Radiant Garden. It had been 3 weeks since he began training with Cloud, Squall Merlin and Van and it had been an intense time at that. Both he and Val were pushed to their limits, though surprisingly Val, who had never fought in her life, was wielding her Scythe with utmost grace and power.

Shade himself had also become a much more proficient warrior, with skills rivaling Cloud and Squall, and while not there yet he was certainly on his way to becoming a true Keyblade wielder.

Val- "WAKE UP!"

Shade got changed quickly into his regular outfit and marched up to Val's door, he knocked but she had already left. She popped her head from the end of the hallway.

Val- "WERE GOING INTO TOWN TODAY!"

Shade ran up to Val who began walking to the door of the castle when he caught up.

Val- "Were going alone today, Squall said he was busy so were going to See Cid. He is the one constructing our Airship"

Val had a tendency to answer questions before they were asked.

Shade- "Is that all?"

Val- "Squall said that he would be showing us how to maintenance the ship when he isn't around. We also have to go and see Merlin about something"

Shade- "Sounds like a plan!"

The two of them left the castle and began walking towards the town. They had found this walk to be a lot less exhausting than when they walked towards the castle as they were fitter now, Shade used to have a bit of a gut on him but that had began turning into a six pack and Val was also gaining muscle even though she was fairly fit to begin with.

Shade- "So how long you reckon we'll be here?"

Val- "Can't really say. You'll know once we talk to Cid I guess"

Shade- "I guess…"

All of a sudden a huge double edged spear fell form the sky and landed in front of shade, it was a huge two meter long silver and white spear decorated in all sorts of feather designs, both white and silver, the shaft of the blade was leather wrapped around steel as to not irritate the hand when wielded. It was truly a marvelous weapon.

Val- "What the!"

Val pulled out her Scythe and walked up to the spear, then Shade pulled out his Keyblade, but when he did a man in a long black cloak with a hood that shrouded his face jumped down (An organization cloak). He was a rather tall and slightly skinny man from what could be seen.

Man- "I've found you at last…"

Shade- "The man at the lake…"

Shade whispered this to Val and she whispered back.

Val- "No. He seems different somehow, but keep your guard up. He wouldn't pick a fight with two people unless he was able to hold his own…"

The cloaked man pulled back his hood revealing a young slender face. He had long black hair, some of which was hanging from his shoulders and the rest flew back gracefully, it was only slightly spiky (It wasn't a Vexen like do, more like Xehanorts with some differences). His eyes were a mix of black and silver and his skin was a slight tan colour.

Cloaked Man- "So after so long you decide to show your face. How could you ever wield a Keyblade after what you have done?"

Val- "I think you're a little confused"

The cloaked man walked up to his spear and picked it up. Val tried to stop him but a strange blast of dark energy pulsated under her and she was knocked into the air and then to the ground.

Cloaked Man- "Don't think I'm going to let you get away with what you have done to me. I cannot forgive you for destroying what I was!"

The cloaked man rushed and jumped at Shade, who was able to only slightly dodge the attack, the man still landed a hit on his left arm as he rushed past. The cloaked man put his spear into the ground and used it to jump into the air and do a series of flips over Shade, he was about to strike when a blast of greenish air knocked him away, he landed on his feet but his attack was hindered nevertheless. It turned out to be Val who was holding her scythe in a menacing way who knocked him out of the way.

Val- "Get away from him. Get away from him NOW!"

The cloaked man looked at her in an angry way, and then he rushed at her with an amazing style and grace about him. He slashed at Val but she parried it, her scythe was knocked away however. Shade was too far away to stop him but he tried running at the man. The cloaked man grasped his spear tightly and was about to end Val when all of a sudden a mysterious figure with a spear jumped past the cloaked man, slashing him in the arm and cutting his cloak which revealed a deep cut just caused by the mysterious man.

The cloaked man grabbed his arm and his spear which he had dropped and stepped back.

Cloaked man- "Why would you help him?"

The man backed into a dark and twisted portal, which he quickly was engulfed by. The man walked up to Val and picked her up.

Man- "Merlin told me you might be dealing with some trouble; he saw a strange figure in the area when he was with you so he told me to meet you halfway just in case"

The man let go of Val's arm and she regained her composure, Shade walked over to the man.

Shade- "I don't mean to be rude or anything, we are grateful for your help and all, but who are you exactly"

Man- "You can call me Cid Highwind"


	6. Chapter 6

Kuza woke up inside the carriage which was resting atop a moving Shoopuf. She got up to notice a spectacular view of a silver and white castle resting atop a green hill, this was the only grass she had seen in a number of weeks as the camp she had been staying in was a red desert (think the outback of Australia) surrounded by sand dunes.

Upon further inspection she noticed that there was a small lake by the hill but after that, the land returned to a state of desertion.

Kuza- "What a beautiful castle"

Javo- "You said it…"

She looked at the head of the Shoopuf to see Javo sitting on top of it's head, looking out at the castle with a sense of satisfaction.

Javo- "I have come to call this castle home over the years, everyone has"

Kuza- "You really do love that castle don't you"

Javo- "I was only young when I was drafted into slavery by the dark witch Maleficent; she kept all of my people underneath the castle to slave away at her very will. When she was vanquished by the young Keyblade master I told you about, we had nowhere to turn. It was only when the world was restored to utopia when we were able to find a purpose in the prevention of tragedies such as our own"

Kuza- "So all your people signed up into Radiant Gardens Army for the Worlds?"

Javo- "Yes, over time though many of our people died in protecting other worlds, some even left the fighting out of fear for their own lives. Then about 3 years ago we were sent to this world to find its core and protect it. At last we had a chance to stop fighting and settle down in one world, we thought to ourselves, of course sadly we did not realize how constant the attacks would be. Our castle is built around the keyhole of this world in order to protect it. But we have no idea when they will strike next, it makes living here a very unsettling affair"

Kuza realized that even though Javo considered this his home and would protect it with his life, that he also knew that his home was not going to exist forever and everything he was doing at this stage was a stall.

Kuza- "I'm sorry…"

Javo- "Don't be… It's inevitable "

Kuza- "I know but…"

Just then a horn blasted. Kuza realized that they were at the castle gate. Two Ronso soldiers ran p to their Shoopuf as Javo jumped down to greet them.

He talked to them for a moment, and then Kuza popped her head out and asked.

Kuza- "Do you need me to get down?"

Javo- "Don't worry. These two will take you to see the General; I will go and speak with the engineer to inquire about preparing you a ship to look for your friends"

The two Ronso walked the Shoopuf all the way to the large silver and limestone door of the castle. They opened the door and the Shoopuf walked into the castle..

Kuza- (Should they really let a beast of this size walk into such a delicate castle)

?- "Any and all living things are allowed inside this castle"

A Man in a very peculiar armor began walking down the center stairs of the castle. He had long white hair and green eyes. His skin was a much tanned complexion he had a very attractive look about him. He was in a gold and green armor, which extended all the way down his body and was covered in a gold tree design with green leaves. On his waist lied a thin belt with a piece of gold material hanging from the back of his waist covering down to his feet. It was also noted that he had very distinguished green veins covering his face and long arms with claws on the end. He was also carrying a long slim sword, that the blade is silver. The handle is a golden color with a tinge of blue on it. On the blade is a picture of a blue dragon with a moon orb.

Man- "I beg my pardon, it was not my place to read your mind without your permission"

Kuza jumped down the side of the Shoopuf and slowly walked up to the man.

Kuza- "I should not have been so ignorant; I should be the one who is sorry"

Man- "Well the, now that we are even, I should introduce myself. My name is Akira Guado, I am the leader of this branch of the Radiant Garden Army, and I am pleased to meet you"

Kuza thought to be polite so she bowed her head to Akira, but he raised her up and shook his head.

Akira- "There is no need for any of that while you are a guest in my castle, please, come into my chamber so we can discuss your situation"

And so Kuza went into Akira's office with him and she explained all that happened on her world, and afterwards up to their meeting. Akira stood up after she had finished retelling her story.

Akira- "So Javo trained you did he not?"

Kuza- "He did"

Akira- "Well then, I would be happy to provide you one of our ships for your travels. But might I ask you one favor?"

Kuza- "Of course"

Kuza was exited at the thought that she would be one step closer to being reunited with her friends.

Akira- "I want you to take Javo along with you"

Kuza was a little confused.

Kuza- "Isn't he one of your best soldiers? How could you stand against the heartless here without him?"

Akira- "This castle is doomed to fall, you know this"

Kuza remembered that Akira could read her mind.

Kuza- "Yes…"

Akira- "I remember Javo's parents, I was only a little older than Javo at the time but they still entrusted me to watch over him. If he sees this castle fall, it will destroy him. Even though he knows it is inevitable he won't be able to take it. He has put up with so much in his life I just don't think it's healthy to expose him to another loss. Do you understand?"

Kuza- "I do."

Akira- "Plus, I don't expect you know how to fly a ship so you don't really have any choice in the matter"

Kuza looked at Akira who was smiling at her, she thought for a moment and then reached her conclusion.

Kuza- "Okay then"

Just then, a Vieira came bursting into the room.

Vieira- "Sir, a huge army of heartless is on its way, and Seymour is leading them!"

Akira- "What?"

The two of them burst out of the room and left the Vieira to follow. Kuza followed Akira to a large balcony at the side of the castle. 100,000 Heartless were marching towards the castle, and at the front line of this army, a man stood silent, with a gleam in his eyes that hinted insanity and a smile that could disturb any man.

Akira- "Seymour…"


	7. Chapter 7

Shade walked up to Val, clutching his arm which was holding his Keyblade. Val looked down for a few seconds; she had been hurt a bit and was not thinking as fast as she usually would.

Val- "Oh, you're the one who is building up the airship"

Cid looked at Shade and noticed his Keyblade

Cid- "You must be Shade, and you must be Val. Yuffie told me about the two of you when she gave me the order for your gummi ship"

Shade- "Thank you for building it by the way"

Cid- "No problem kid, I do love my work"

Cid noticed that both Shade and Val were injured and realized why he was there in the first place.

Cid- "Sorry to keep you waiting like this, come on lets head back to my joint And we can get you both rested up"

Later on at Cid's warehouse where a half built gummi ship lie and a house rested next to, Shade and Val were sitting at a table a few meters away from the ship which Cid was fixing up.

Val (yelling out to Cid) - "So how long till the ship is finished up?"

Cid- "This rate. I'd say we could fly you two out of here in about 18 hours"

Shade- "Is that all?"

Cid- "Well you should know that building the ship is only one part of the deal here"

Val- "Yeah, I figured as much"

Shade- "What do you mean?"

Shade was getting frustrated. He still had no idea as to what had happened to Kuza when they were separated.

Cid- "Do you actually know how to pilot one of these babies?"

Shade- "Well, no"

Cid- "Well isn't much of a point in me giving you this here gummi ship unless you can fly it"

Shade was not too happy about the prospect of having to learn how to fly an airship, but he figured he would have to.

Val- "Don't even!"

Shade looked at her startled.

Shade- "What is it?"

Val- "I studied at an air academy for 3 years before going to study biology and ecology, I thin I should be the one to learn, not you"

Shade- "Your call. You are the oldest"

Val- "Darn Skippy"

Shade (to himself) - "Don't act like it though"

Val- "Say what!"

She quickly jerked her head towards Shade.

Shade- "Nothing!"

Val slowly turned her head back to Cid, and then quickly jerked it back to Shade. Then slowly brought it back to Cid again.

Cid- "…Okay then… Val, you can learn to pilot the gummi ship"

Val- "When do I start?"

Cid- "Now"

Val- "What, no prep time?"

Cid- "The sooner you start the sooner you leave"

Shade- "Well then if you two don't need me here anymore. I've rested well. Think I'll go see what Merlin wanted"

Cid- "You don't mind if you head back to the castle alone do you? I think it would be easier if Val bunked up here during her training course"

Shade felt relieved. He liked Val, but she did get under his skin easily, and having her gone would give Shade more of a chance to take things in.

Shade- "Got no problem with that"

Val- "I'll see you in a few then, and don't forget to visit"

Shade- "Kay, bye"

Shade went over to Merlin's house to see that Merlin wasn't home. But instead Van was sitting by an open fire eating a chicken leg and practicing levitating ashes from the fire. Van noticed Shade and walked up to him.

Van- "Oh it's you!"

Shade- "Hi Van. Merlin said he wanted me to come here"

Van- "Oh yes, here"

Van grabbed two boxes from a closet opposite the fireplace. One was a relatively small box witch looked like a piece of jewelry was inside. The other was quite large, though surprisingly lightweight. It looked like it had clothes inside it.

Van- "You can open the little one now; it's a gift from Merlin that he got a while back. It's apparently a relic from back when Sora was fighting the Heartless"

Shade had heard of Sora and his story, but had never thought he would get something that once belonged to him.

When he opened the package he found a black keychain, he then drew his Keyblade and noticed his had a keychain attached to it.

Van- "Put it on"

He attached the black keychain to his Keyblade. As he did so it shined a bright light, then he realized when the light faded that his Keyblade was now black and had a very distinct design.

Van- "Merlin said that this keychain is called Oblivion, and that you could find more of these as you journey thought the worlds"

Shade noticed how much lighter, yet more powerful this Keyblade felt. He also felt as though he had more energy than before just by simply wielding this Keyblade.

Shade- "I feel so strong"

Van- "Most key chains will have that effect; some however, are stronger than others"

Shade then remembered the second package.

Shade- "So what about this one?"

Van- "That one is from me. But it's for Val, so don't go opening it yet"

Shade- "You want me to go take it to her?"

Van- "No, it's better that she get it when you two leave, I don't want it getting ruined before you leave because I put a lot of work into it"

Shade- "What is it exactly?"

Van- "You'll find out when she opens it"

Shade- "Well if that's all. I'll be heading back, it's getting dark and I want to have to walk back in the dark"

Van- "You sure you can get back on your own? Cid told me you two got attacked by a man on your way down"

Shade- "This time I'll be on my guard. Plus I have this new Keyblade, it should at least get me past him"

Van- "Well then, I'll tell Merlin you dropped by"

Shade- "You do that. Be seeing you Van"

Van- "See you later Shade"

Shade left the house out the same way he went in. He left the village and walked up the path to the castle with his new Keyblade in his right hand and Van's gift in the other. He would occasionally stumble over the gift but he eventually made it to the castle gates.

Shade- "Well, that's another day done"

Shade opened the gates and went into the castle.


End file.
